Square
From NEC Retro
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| Square |
|---|
| Founded: 1986 |
| Defunct: 2003 |
| Merged with: Enix |
| Merged into: Square Enix (2003) |
| Headquarters: Japan |
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Square,also known under its international brand name SquareSoft, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was founded in 1986 by Masafumi Miyamoto, who spun off part of his father's electronics company Den-Yu-Sha (電友社). Among its early employees were designers Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu and Koichi Ishii, artist Kazuko Shibuya, programmer Nasir Gebelli, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Initially focusing on action games, the team saw popular success with the role-playing video game Final Fantasy in 1987, which would lead to the franchise of the same name being one of its tentpole franchises. Later notable staff included directors Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita, designer and writer Yasumi Matsuno, artists Tetsuya Nomura and Yusuke Naora, and composers Yoko Shimomura and Masashi Hamauzu.
Initially developing for PCs, then exclusively for Nintendo systems, Square broke up with Nintendo in the 1990s to develop for Sony Computer Entertainment's upcoming console PlayStation. Their first major project for the console, Final Fantasy VII, was a worldwide critical and commercial success and was credited with boosting the popularity of role-playing video games and the PlayStation outside Japan. Alongside the Final Fantasy series, the company developed and published several other notable series, including SaGa, Mana, Front Mission, Chrono and Kingdom Hearts. Over the years, many staff left to found studios such as Monolith Soft (Xeno), Sacnoth (Shadow Hearts), Mistwalker (Fantasian), and AlphaDream (Mario & Luigi).
In 2001, the company saw financial troubles due to the commercial failure of the feature film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which ultimately led Sakaguchi to leave the company in 2003. The film's failure disrupted merger discussions with Enix, publisher of the Dragon Quest series. Following the success of Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts, negotiations resumed and the merger went ahead on April 1, 2003, forming Square Enix.
Softography
PC-8801
- The Death Trap (1984)
- Will: The Death Trap II (1985)
PC-9801
- The Death Trap (1984)
- Alpha (1986)
- Cruise Chaser Blassty (1986)
PC-8801 mkII
- King's Knight Special (1987)